AstraZeneca, Ionis Drug Wainua Fails Heart Trial
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- Wainua, AstraZeneca's drug developed in partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, failed to outperform placebo in a pivotal trial for transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), missing its primary goal of reducing cardiovascular death and clinical events.
- AstraZeneca framed the outcome as a blow to its cardiovascular aspirations, noting that ATTR-CM has become an increasingly competitive target for biopharma companies.
- AstraZeneca's U.S.-listed shares fell roughly 8% in premarket trading after the Thursday announcement, while its London-listed shares dropped 9%.
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals saw its shares decline 12% in premarket hours following the trial failure disclosure.
Why it matters: Investors punished both companies immediately — AstraZeneca's U.S. and London-listed shares dropped 8-9% and Ionis fell 12% in premarket trading — and the miss lands in an ATTR-CM space that AstraZeneca itself calls increasingly competitive, leaving it further behind rivals pursuing the same indication.
